Top 2026 OL Tyler Merrill Talks Notre Dame Return
Tyler Merrill wasn’t able to get back to Notre Dame for a game this fall, but the top 2026 Pennsylvania offensive lineman was glad he was able to return to South Bend for the Irish’s Junior Day this past weekend.
“It went good,” Merrill told Irish Sports Daily afterward. “We went to the hockey game. I got to just hang out, say hi to everyone. I haven't been there in a while, so yeah, it was good.”
The 6-foot-6, 325-pounder enjoyed sitting down with Irish offensive line coach Joe Rudolph again.
“It was good,” said Merrill. “He talked about the program a little bit, more about how the season went, he explained to me a little bit more on how I'd fit in here and whatnot. It was good.
“He sees me as a guard obviously, more interior. He thinks I'm just a great fit personality-wise. He says I do all the right things right and he'd love to have me come here.
“They just talked about what their plans are for the future.”
Irish head coach Marcus Freeman will be at Cumberland Valley High School on Friday to check in on Merrill.
Merrill was able to spend time with a couple Irish offensive line commits, Sullivan Garvin and Ben Nichols.
“I got to talk to both of them and get a little closer to them,” he said. “They're good guys. They're kind of like me, so it was pretty cool.
“They aren’t pressuring me. I've seen them throughout my recruitment, so it's been pretty good.”
At the conclusion of his trip, Merrill dropped a Top 5 that included Notre Dame, Penn State, Wisconsin, Clemson and Alabama.
He doesn’t have any other visits set yet, but he’s hoping to return to South Bend for a spring practice, and does have an idea of how he’ll continue narrowing the list down.
“Those are kind of the schools I'm going to focus on for now,” he said. “Get past just the program as whole and looking more towards who the people are and what I can get out of a degree from there I think is most important.”
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